How 

Is 

The 

University 


Locomotive  Testing  Laboratory 
University  of  Illinois 


HOW  IS  1 HE  UNIVERSITY? 

X'VO  years  ago  and  one  year  ago  as  the  servant 
of  the  people  it  was  my  duty  to  set  before  you 
the  hard  conditions  under  which  the  University  of 
Illinois  was  doing  its  work  on  account  of  the  great 
increase  in  students  and  slowing  up  of  building 
\ caused  by  the  wTar.  Through  your  representatives 
in  the  legislature  you  undertook  to  remedy  the  situ- 
ation by  a liberal  increase  in  the  appropriation  to 
your  University  for  operating  and  for  buildings. 

I Although  the  amount  received  was  not  what,  as  the 
responsible  head  of  the  institution,  was  in  my  judg- 
ment the  minimum  necessary  to  accomplish  the 
purpose,  it  afforded  great  relief  and  the  University 
gladly  and  cheerfully  accepted  your  derision  ami 
set  to  work  to  do  the  best  it  could. 

Money  Saved 

I'J'O  help  relieve  the  need  for  more  room,  $90,000 
were  appropriated  for  a three  story  addition  to 
fhe  Transportation  Building.  Work  on  this  was 
begun  in  the  middle  of  July  and  the  building  was 
occupied  the  last  week  of  September.  This  rapid 
work  was  possible  because  the  construction  was  under 
our  own  close  supervision  and  every  means  was  used 
to  save  time  and  money.  As  a result,  the  work  is 
completed  at  a cost  of  $10,000  Jess  than  the  appropria- 
tion. That  is,  we  have  saved  $10,000  of  the  $90,000 
appropriated  and  it  remains  in  the  Treasury.  It  is 
our  fixed  plan  to  make  every  dollar  go  as  far  as 
possible  and  to  use  no  more  of  an  appropriation  for  a 
specific  purpose  than  is  absolutely  necessary. 

Staff  and  Its  Pay 

'JpHE  total  number  on  the  payroll  of  the  University 
this  year  is  1 465,  including  141  on  part  time. 
Of  these,  987  are  on  the  teaching  and  administrative 
staff  and  481  are  on  the  clerical  and  other  staff.  The 
total  amount  paid  to  regular  staff  and  employees  in 
salaries  and  wages  for  the  year  is  $2,830,036,  showing 
an  average  of  $2,136  for  everybody  on  the  payroll  on 
full  time  basis,  and  of  $2,630  for  those  on  the  instruc- 
tional and  administrative  staff'. 

It  is  not  true  that  we  are  losing  good  men  because 
of  lack  of  money,  though  good  men  are  continually 
promoted  to  places  in  other  institutions.  The  facul- 
ty and  administrative  staffs  of  the  University  of 
Illinois  rank  with  any  similar  institution  in  the  world. 
Indeed,  they  outrank  many. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS  BULLETIN 

Issued  Weekly 

Vol.  XIX  April  17,  1922  No.  34 

[Entered  as  second-class  matter  December  1 1.  iqiz,  at  the  post  office 
at  Urbana.  Illinois,  under  the  Act  of  August  24.  1912.  Acceptance 
for  mailing  at  the  special  rate  of  postage  provided  for  in  section 
1103,  Act  of  October  3,  1917,  authorized  Ju/v  31,  1918. J 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS,  URBANA 


Burrill  Avenue — A Campus  Street 
University  of  Illinois 

Attendance  Increased  by  About  the  Average 
Annual  Ten  Per  Cent 

'T'HE  total  registration  for  the  year  is  10,627  bona 
A fide  resident  students,  an  increase  over  last  year 
of  1,134.  By  colleges,  it  is: 


19 

Liberal  Arts  and  Sciences 

Commerce 

Education 

Engineering 

Agriculture 

Music 

Law 

20-21 

2 53  5 
1841 
137 
1662 

1 135 

1 17 
128 

1921-22 

•2786 

2063 

291 

1737 

1036 

101 

130 

Library 

3° 

Graduate  School 

42 1 

55 1 

Medicine  (Chicago) 

3i3 

355 

Dentistry  (Chicago) 

229 

204 

Pharmacy  (Chicago) 

208 

26  c 

Summer  Session  (excluding  dupli- 
cates, those  who  attended  the 

winter  session) 

750 

1089 

Total  vet  enrollment  for  the.  year 

(excluding  duplicates) 

9493 

10627 

The  great  increase  in  college  and  university  at- 
tendance is  due  undoubtedly  to  the  stimulus  given 
by  the  war  to  young  people  for  more  education  and 
to  the  campaign  fostered  throughout  the  country 
the  past  two  years  to  “stay  in  school”  and  “go  to 
college.”  The  movement  will  be  permanent  and  pro- 
vision must  be  made  to  meet  it. 

Numbers  and  Standards 

npHE  increasing  enrollment  in  the  University  is 
A regarded  by  some  as  showing  a lowering  of 
standards.  This  is  not  so.  The  colleges  and  uni- 
versities have  not  lowered  their  standards , but  there  are 
more  boys  and  girls  able  to  meet  them.  While  the 
population  of  the  country  increased  about  68  per 
cent  in  the  twenty  years  preceding  1918,  college  and 
Miiversity  attendance  in  the  country  increased  about 
139  per  cent , and  in  the  past  twenty-eight  years  the 


secondary  school  enrollment  has  increased  about  yio 
per  cent.  Population  is  greater  and  a larger  pro- 
portion of  high  school  pupils  are  entering  college. 
If  it  costs  one  dollar  to  do  a public  service  when 
ten  people  are  involved,  we  must  expect  to  pay  per- 
haps up  to  two  dollars  when  the  same  service  has  to 
be  performed  for  double  the  number  of  people.  We 
cannot  expect  to  educate  a growing  number  at  the  same 
or  less  expense. 


Increasing  Expenditures 

A/IUCH  is  said  and  written  about  the  increased 
expenditure  on  education.  The  expense  is  not 
increasing  faster  than  the  number  of  boys  and  girls 
to  be  educated.  The  percentage  of  increase  for  edu- 
cational purposes  is  far  less  than  the  percentage  of 
increase  in  enrollment.  The  question  for  the  country 
to  decide  is  whether  we  wrant  to  provide  higher  edu- 
cation for  as  many  of  our  children  as  want  it.  We 
cannot  lessen  expenditure  for  education  and  at  the 
same  time  increase  the  number  to  be  educated.  All  we 
can  do,  and  this  we  should  do,  is  to  see  to  it  that  the 
utmost  economy  compatible  with  the  best  work  is 
observed. 

Is  the  University  Too  Large? 

A LTHOUGH  there  are  not  enough  class  rooms 
and  laboratories  to  permit  of  a schedule  which 
provides  the  use  of  many  rooms  to  the  best  interest 
of  the  student  health , the  classes  as  now  conducted 
are  not  overcrowded.  They  are  still  large,  but  no  one 
has  yet  been  excluded. 

The  statement  has  been  frequently  made  of  late 
that  the  student  body  is  already  too  numerous  and 
too  unwieldy  for  the  highest  and  best  results  in  the 
work  of  educating.  This  statement  is  made  by 
those  who  are  simply  impressed  with  the  total  at- 
tendance. It  is  not  a correct  view.  The  University 
is  neither  too  large  nor  unwieldy.  The  mere  fact  that 
its  enrollment  is  10,000  does  not  prove  either  point. 
The  statement  might  be  more  correct  if  the  whole 
10,000  were  a homogeneous  body  in  the  sense  that 
they  were  all  taking  the  same  subjects.  But  the 
University  of  Illinois  is  made  up  of  ten  or  more 
colleges  and  schools , each  with  its  own  curriculum. 
There  is  only  one  study  that  all  freshmen  students 
must  take  and  therefore  only  otie  subject  in  which 
they  must  be  brought  together  as  a homogeneous 
group.  That  is  first  year  Rhetoric  or  English. 
Aside  from  this,  the  largest  single  group  is  about 
0,700  in  Arts  and  Sciences,  which  is  a smaller  number 
than  many  independent  colleges  of  arts  and  sciences 
In  the  country. 

Again,  the  University  is  no  larger  than,  indeed  is 
smaller  than,  many  European  universities  in  the  past 
and  today.  They  were  not  broken  up  because  they 
were  too  large  or  unwieldy.  Still  further,  a large 


number  simply  requires  a better  organization.  If 
the  best  work  can  be  done  in  a class  of  twenty-five , 
all  that  is  necessary  is  to  have  staff  and  space  enough 
to  divide  the  large  number  into  classes  of  twenty-five . 
There  is  no  less  efficiency  in  teaching  such  a class, 
whether  it  is  one  of  a hundred  similar  classes  held 
at  the  same  place  on  the  same  day  or  one  of  a hundred 
similar  classes  held  in  different  institutions  on  the 
same  day.  But  there  is  an  economy  in  handling  large 
numbers  with  proper  organization  instead  of  scat- 
tering them  over  the  State. 

The  educational  work  of  the  different  colleges 
could  not  be  carried  on  if  the  students  were  distributed 
in  other  places;  for  nearly  every  student  in  every  college 
of  the  University  takes  some  subject  in  the  curricu- 
lum of  some  of  the  others , and  each  of  these  colleges 
furnishes  early  in  the  course  some  of  the  technical 
or  special  work  needed  for  the  different  degrees. 


Should  We  Have  Branch  Universities? 

XTO.  The  overhead  expense  is  less  if  all  are  in  one 
• institution.  The  spirit  of  the  body  of  students 
is  better;  there  is  inspiration  in  putting  students  with, 
different  life  aims  in  the  same  class;  there  is  unity 
of  ideals  and  a greater  inspiration  for  all  concerned. 
If  the  time  ever  comes  when  the  number  of  students 
seeking  admission  cannot  find  proper  places  to  live 
or  a point  is  reached,  which  seems  . to  me  hardly, 
conceivable,  when  there  will  be  economy  iq  dupli- 
cating overhead  and  equipment,  then  it  will  be  time 
to  discuss  branch  institutions.  That  time  is. far  in 
the  future. 


The  University  Finances 

'T'HE  legislature  passed  appropriations  for  the  Uni- 
versity aggregating  $5,250,000  per  annum.1 
This  amount  was  reduced  to  $4,430,000.  Considered 
by  itself,  the  sum  seems  large.  Considered  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  burden  of  the  individual , it  is 
trifling.  It  amounts  to  one  and  three  tenth  cents  per 
capita  per  week.  Considered  as  an  invest?nent  and 
set  off  against  contributions  by  the  University  to' the 
State' s welfare , it  is  really  a minus  quantity. 

Of  the  more  than  two  hundred  million  dollars 
the  people  of  Illinois  paid  in  general  property  taxes 
in  1 92 1,  more  than  yiine-tenths  remained  in  the  lo- 
calities for  local  purposes.  Less  than  ten  cents  on  the 
dollar  went  for  appropriations  by  the  state  legisla- 
ture for  all  state  purposes,  including  the  University. 

Building  Programs  Elsewhere 

1 he  University  of  Illinois-  building  program  has 
not  for  several  years  kept  pace  with  the  needs  of  her 
students,  nor  with  those  of  some  of  the  universities 
of  her  sister  states  in  the  Central  West.  For  the 


biennium  1921-23,  the  following  amounts  were  ap- 
propriated for  building  purposes: 

Michigan  (University  & Agricultural 


College) $5,790,000 

Ohio  State  (including  Agricultural  Ex- 
periment Station) 2,415,000 

Illinois 1,500,000 

Kansas  (not  including  agriculture) 1,290,000 

Minnesota 1,120,000 


Iowa  (University  & Agricultural  College)  937,000 

Whose  Is  The  University? 

TT  belongs  to  you , the  people  of  Illinois.  Some 
^ people  talk  and  write  as  if  the  University  officers, 
in  asking  for  appropriations,  were  seeking  personal 
favors.  This  is  not  true.  As  I have  often  said,  it 
is  no  more  to  me,  as  a citizen,  than  to  any  other 
person  of  Illinois  whether  the  University  is  worthy 
of  the  State. 

Others  call  the  University  “a  burden  to  the  tax- 
payers of  the  State.”  Everything  for  which  we  have 
to  pay  is,  in  a sense,  a burden.  But  an  institution 
which , like  the  University , returns  so  much  to  the  State 
is  not  in  a true  sense  a burden.  Our  taxes  for  street 
lighting,  highways,  and  every  other  public  purpose, 
which  are  far  greater  than  those  for  the  University , 
are  a burden  only  if  we  do  not  get  back  from  them  in 
service  what  we  put  into  them.  Education  is  an  in- 
vestment, not  a burden. 

The  Future  of  the  University 

TN  your  hands,  my  fellow  citizens,  and  not  in  mine, 
A lies  the  future  of  the  University . The  welfare  of 
Illinois  is  dependent  on  the  higher  education  of  a 
growing  number  of  future  citizens  and  on  the  prose- 
cution of  research  and  discovery  in  all  lines  to  pro- 
mote progress  in  economic , political,  and  social  life. 
The  responsibility  is  yours,  not  mine.  My  responsi- 
bility is  to  tell  you  honestly  what  the  University 
needs  to  make  it  efficient. 

David  Kin  ley 

President 


